Portable Air Conditioners Vs. Swamp Coolers: Which is Right for You?

When the temperature rises, many people look to the cooling comfort of indoor air conditioning, but in certain settings such as apartment buildings and server rooms, installing standard air conditioning units may be difficult, impractical, or even cost-prohibitive.  It is for this reason that consumers often turn to portable ACs and swamp coolers in order to stave off the summer heat.

Although both types of appliances serve to lower the ambient temperature in a given environment, they use different cooling techniques and the terms "portable air conditioner" and "swamp cooler" may be mistakenly interchanged.  Portable air conditioners essentially act as dehumidifiers and draw moisture out of the air, while swamp coolers cool the environment by adding humidity. 

Moreover, air conditioners work best in closed environments where the air is continuously circulated, while portable swamp coolers supply fresh air but only offer incremental cooling effects.  As such, because of these distinct differences, choosing the right type of portable cooler for your given environment will depend on your climate, cooling needs, and even energy concerns.

Portable Air Conditioners

Portable air conditioners allow you to take control of your indoor temperature without having to deal with any type of permanent installation.  Also perfect for providing supplemental cooling to existing central air conditioning units, portable air conditioners are great for apartment buildings that do not allow window units or homes with windows that cannot accommodate permanently-installed window units.  Furthermore, these types of room air conditioners are compact in size, equipped with casters, and assembly usually only consists of running an exhaust hose to the outside.

How Portable Air Conditioners Work

In terms of how they work, portable ACs have the cold and hot sides of the conditioning cycle contained within one box-like unit.  A condenser coil is cooled from the air in a room and the exhaust hose expels heat.  Finally, due to this cooling cycle, water is condensed out of the air and collected in an internal drain bucket. 

However, some portable room air conditioners exhaust this water through the drain hose, and many models even utilize auto-evaporative technology.  Another thing to consider is the fact that portable air conditioners are best used in certain climates.  Because they lower temperatures by using a refrigeration cycle, this process reduces humidity levels and dries the ambient air.  Therefore, if you live in an arid climate, a swamp cooler may be more suitable. 

Swamp Coolers

Cooling and heating systems can account for over half of a household's energy bill, and as the numbers on your thermostat rise, so can the costs of keeping your home cool and comfortable.  Studies have shown that energy consumption for home air conditioning can account for up to 5 percent of electricity produced by the United States and at a cost to homeowners of over 15 billion dollars.  Thus, finding a cost-effective way to stay cool is something to consider, and if you live in the right climate, a swamp cooler may be just the answer.

Swamp coolers use the simple process of evaporation to provide cooling.  Consisting of a box-like frame containing a walled-fan and water-soaked pads, a swamp cooler's fan takes in hot air, sends it through the water-cooled pads, and lowers the temperature by up to 20 degrees.  This process can be likened to splashing water on your skin on a hot day and feeling the coolness on your skin.  Because swamp coolers use evaporation to cool the air, they use as much as 75 percent less electricity than air conditioners.  Furthermore, versatility is another key benefit to owning a swamp cooler. Personal air coolers are great for cooling down a room or parts of a home, while commercial swamp coolers are specially designed to cool warehouses, stadiums, and entertainment venues.